Art: Emotional or Intellectual Connection

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Art: Emotional or Intellectual Connection

Often I get tired of receiving messages. We all have to deal with thousands of messages each day: advertisements in newspapers, magazines, billboards, television, and radio; email messages, text messages, voice messages, subliminal messages, telephone messages, etc. When I look at art, the last thing I want to have to do is decipher some sort of hidden message. I want artwork to calm my soul and refresh my senses. I want to forget the messages of the world and look at the beauty of a painting that stirs my emotion - not necessarily my intellect.

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Get Your Paintings Into Shape

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Get Your Paintings Into Shape

One of the most difficult things to learn as one begins a journey in painting is to think of the world as a combination of flat shapes rather than realistic objects. Objects and three-dimensional "things" in the real world must be translated into flat, interconnected "shapes" when one designs compositions for paintings on a two-dimensional plain of paper or canvas. This difference in "seeing" is often challenging for amateur artists. Students generally have to draw and paint awhile before this notion sinks in. Understanding shapes is a basic necessity in learning how to compose a good work of art.

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Don't "Photo-Copy" Your Next Painting

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Don't "Photo-Copy" Your Next Painting

As artists we sometimes get into a rut using photographs from which to create our work. Photographs are easy because the image they contain is right in front of us. I find that nearly all beginning students completely rely on the image in the photograph as their composition - this is what I refer to as "photo-copying". This is not necessarily their fault because no one has ever taught them about the principles of design and how to utilize those principles to develop a composition. The design of the painting is really more important than the production quality of the finished work. The design is as much the "art" of a piece as the production.

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Loosen-Up Your Painting Style - 20 Sure Fire Ways

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Loosen-Up Your Painting Style - 20 Sure Fire Ways

When I am teaching Classes and Workshops, no one ever says "Show me how to be a tight painter". Everyone wants to know how to loosen up and paint in a fresh, colorful style. Painting loosely is my natural approach, however there are many elements of a loose technique that can be taught. Through my years as an artist I have developed a series of notes and observations on what it takes to "loosen-up" your paintings. Nearly all of these tips have a common denominator - simplification. The more you simplify what you do, the more it frees your mind to concentrate on staying loose. These are very simple techniques that anyone can do, so read and enjoy!

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